"Readers will know I’m a generally fan of free speech. But I would support a ban on the use, by all politicians in every election year, of the word “desperate”."My personal favourites are “outrage”, “travesty”, “debacle”, “bureaucracy” (esp. said with that ugly hissing noise at the end), “bloated” (see bureaucracy), “tax cuts” (still ringing in my ears).
One of the nice things about National bludgeoning Labour over the head with petty interpretations of the finer points of the EFA is that we are likely for the first time in many years to see an election with much less empty noise and clutter. That will now be entirely up to the media, who I have no doubt are up to the task, if past election coverage is used as a guide.
Seriously. For many elections now no one has really talked in depth about policy and if they did, the media rarely reported it in depth and if they DID, few read it in depth. Maybe 200 bloggers, some journos, policy wonks, foreign intelligence agencies, bankers, economists, speculators in various financial and commodity markets and other assorted oddballs (mea culpa on more than one count).
Thinking about it further, the effect of the EFA on “public discourse” may be more calming than chilling AND we get to see who the big donors to parties were (for a change).
Before we chuck the EFA out, we may want to reflect on the relative peace and quiet it could well lead to. Room to think. After all, anyone who really wants to know party policy and rationale can call that party up and ask, or go to the party's web site and look it up.
The only flaw in that plan is that some parties have decided they don’t want anyone knowing their policies anyway.
In that case, I’m bit foozled as to why they feel their freedom of speech has been infringed and public discourse undermined by the EFA when they have decided quite separately not to tell anyone what their policies are anyway.
Elections. Gotta love’em. Quiet ones best of all, I think. Maybe if voters are not being bashed about the head with leader-focused, party logo branded propaganda emptiness, they just may be motivated to fill the void by finding out for themselves what policies are on offer.
Nah. That would be hoping for too much.
Steve, You can submit pet hates to the Lake Superior State University list of banished words for consideration for the 2009 list. Too late for the election, but better late than never.
ReplyDeleteThe list is compiled by students at the Michigan university. After reading about a recent piece of Colin Espiner’s on kiwiblog, I’ve nominated “politics 101″.
jp: Ta! :-)
ReplyDelete